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In this paper, we review evidence for a major biotic turnover across the Oligocene/Miocene in the Tibetan Plateau region. Based on the recent study of six well-preserved fossil sites from the Cenozoic Lunpola and Nima basins in the central Tibetan Plateau, we report a regional changeover from tropical/subtropical ecosystems in the Late Oligocene ecosystem (26–24 Ma) to a cooler, alpine biota of the Early Miocene (23–18 Ma). The Late Oligocene fossil biota, comprising of fish (climbing perch), insects and plants (palms), shows that the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau was a warm lowland influenced by tropical humidity from the Indian Ocean. In the Early Miocene, the regional biota became transformed, with the evolution and diversification of the endemic primitive snow carp. Early Miocene vegetation was dominated by temperate broad-leaved forest with abundant conifers and herbs under a cool climate, and mammals included the hornless rhinoceros, Plesiaceratherium , a warm temperate taxon. This dramatic ecosystem change is due to a cooling linked to the uplift of Tibetan region, from a Late Oligocene paleo-elevation of no greater than 2300 m a.s.l. in the sedimentary basin to a paleo-elevation of about 3000 m a.s.l. Another factor was the Cenozoic global climatic deterioration toward to an ice-house world. • The Tibetan uplift had a profound impact on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. • The Oligocene subtropical ecosystem was replaced by a Miocene cooler biota in Tibet. • The Late Oligocene biota showed that the Tibetan hinterland was a warm lowland. • The Early Miocene biota eventually culminated in the present ecosystem of Tibet. • This dramatic ecosystem change is due to the cooling effect of the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]